Agricultural furor and industrial boom. The first day of Belagro 2024 caused unprecedented excitement

Topic news The international specialized exhibition in the field of agriculture and food "Belagro", which started today at the exhibition center of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park "Great Stone", is being held for the 34th time. Year after year, it becomes more and more difficult for organizers to surprise regulars who are experienced in mechanical engineering and understand the intricacies of crop and livestock farming, but they also need to attract the attention of newcomers, who, for sure, also have something to show. However, the forum never tires of breaking all kinds of records and increasing in number of participants, this year already uniting 490 companies from 11 countries and 29 foreign delegations. Achievements of the Belarusian agro-industrial complex, exclusive from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, know-how from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Germany, CHINA , Turkey, new cultivated varieties and innovations in the field of biotechnology, as well as the selection of the best breeding cow, tests for the most skilled plowman, competition for the title of "champion of taste", a tour of a fishing village, a tractor rally, a chaise ride - you can't count it all. It will be very interesting!

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“No, well, you saw it!”, “Where else would you try something like this if not here?”, “It was worth coming just for this!” - such exclamations can accompany almost every exhibition area of ​​Belagro. The expansion of exhibition space has already become a trend: this year, for example, the area allocated for the exhibition was increased by more than 3.5 thousand sq.m. One of the central places of the forum is still occupied by the demonstration of new products and agricultural machines of domestic and foreign production that have already been tested and proven themselves in field conditions.
For example, Bobruiskagromash is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery and equipment in Eastern Europe, exporting equipment to more than 50 countries. Deputy General DIRECTOR for Commercial Affairs Vladimir Daineko clarified that the holding focused on the production of machines for energy-rich tractors. Thus, at the exhibition today you can see and study the characteristics of a new product - a universal semi-trailer with a load capacity of 30 tons. The production of Bobruiskagromash is also moving towards the enlargement of machines for applying liquid organic fertilizers: the latest model MZHU-22 known on the market is complemented by its improved counterpart at the exhibition - MZHU-25. There is also an exclusive: with the exception of the Bobruisk holding, no one in the republic has launched the production of the LPG 4000 laser soil leveler, designed to eliminate uneven fields. And here is the PRL-150AM flax sliver baler - Bobruiskagromash is perhaps the only manufacturer of this type of equipment in the CIS. The special pride of the Bobruiskselmash enterprise is the pneumatic universal seeder "Berezina 9600 - 1U". Without undue modesty, Vladimir Daineko called this model the best in Belarus and one of the most worthy in the post-Soviet space. In fact, the list of new products could go on for a long time.
“We are an export-oriented enterprise. In different seasons of the year, about 50-70% of our products go abroad. Mainly to RUSSIA and Kazakhstan , but a number of large projects are being implemented in other countries of Central Asia, we are also actively developing African markets. We benefit from this “Due to the range of products, we smooth out seasonality and provide ourselves with uniform demand, and the production capabilities of a large holding allow us to fulfill large orders quickly and efficiently,” summarized Vladimir Daineko, deputy general director of the Bobruiskagromash holding.

“The offer is interesting, let’s look at supply issues,” the conversation goes on near a stand nearby. These are Russian farmers who flew to Belarus with their familiesIt is at Belagro that they are studying the proposal of another Belarusian industrial giant - the Lidselmash holding. Russians are, of course, primarily interested in new products, and at today’s exhibition the holding company will present three at once. We are talking about a mobile dryer SM-38, a 5-meter heavy harrow produced by the Minskagroprommash plant and a modification of the LIDER-12000 - LIDER-9000 seeder, which has already earned the trust of agricultural producers. “Our potential buyers are farms from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and African countries. At Belagro-2024 we are waiting for our partners from Congo, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, where our equipment has already been supplied. This year we are counting on concluding new contracts.” , - Deputy General Director for Commercial Issues of the Lidselmash Holding Mikhail Buzhinsky shares his plans.  
However, Belarusian machine builders do not forget their “old” partners, just as they do not forget us. Chairman of the production and agricultural cooperative "Priuralsky", which has 65 thousand hectares of arable land, which is incredibly large even by Russian standards, Bekpai Dzhulvmanov from the Orenburg region was greatly impressed by the level and pace of development of Belarusian agricultural machinery, the high class and speed of which is noticeable at every exhibition copy. “We are twinned with the Kopyl region, we will definitely visit friends, and today at Belagro. Our farm operates six Belarusian-made combines and about 70 tractors of the MTZ brand. Over the past five years, we have bought 35 Belarusian tractors, and have never regretted it We have been operating some tractors for more than 40 years: we will do some minor repairs, install air conditioners - and that’s it, the equipment goes into the field. I would say that the two key characteristics of MTZ tractors are reliability and ease of use. MTZ has always been the best manufacturer of equipment in its field. segment, remains so now,” sums up Bekpay Aitmanovich.
Planting crops is not enough; they also need to be fed and processed in a timely manner, so a logical continuation of the Belagro exposition series is the demonstration of enterprises involved in the production of fertilizers and plant protection products. The undisputed leader among the specialized enterprises represented at the exhibition is the Russian mineral and chemical company EuroChem, which has long secured its status as one of the leading producers of mineral fertilizers in Russia and throughout the world. “We have had our representative office in Belarus since 2007, so we have been on your market for a long time. EuroChem produces all types of fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorus-containing, potassium. We supply a large amount of nitrogen fertilizers to Belarus. Our nitrogen-limestone organics are perfect for acidic and light soils and growing vegetables, grain group, corn, rapeseed",- says Sergey Kizhapkin, HEAD of the agricultural direction of the East and CIS.

Ultimately, the efforts of industrialists and fertilizer manufacturers are aimed at obtaining a high-quality, abundant and tasty harvest . Belarusian vegetable growers know firsthand how difficult it is to produce a competitive product. The DorOrs company, well known to consumers, will present at Belagro 2024 almost the entire range of its products: here are tomatoes of various varieties, smooth and pimply cucumbers, yellow and red peppers, purple eggplants, and green crops (lettuce, dill, arugula, basil, parsley, sorrel, cilantro). There was room at the stand for fragrant roses and even alcoholic products. “We have become a kind of pioneers: in the past off-season we planted 2.5 hectares of tomatoes for growing under additional lighting. The volume is small, of course, but we will expand the area gradually. The areas for growing cucumber under light cultivation, for example, we have already increased by 8 hectares compared to last year, the goal is ambitious - to fully provide the domestic market with nutritious and healthy vegetables during the off-season period, our products are environmentally friendly, because our customers are not used to anything else, so today we successfully compete with foreign suppliers for the consumer wallet,” noted agronomist Natalya. Spiridenok.
And the leading technologist of the Slutsk wine and vodka factory, Evgenia Giro, added that domestic producers guarantee 100% quality of their products, because all ingredients are purchased within the country from suppliers proven over the years, which makes them compare favorably with foreign competitors. “Cognacs, liqueurs, bitter and sweet liqueurs, liqueurs, fruit and berry wines. We prepare our products, one might say, according to grandmother’s recipes and consistent proportions. We also differ in design, developed in the traditional Belarusian style,” she emphasized employee of the Slutsk wine and vodka factory.
We met the chief agronomist of the Rudakovo greenhouse complex, which firmly retains its status as the leader of the agricultural market in the Vitebsk region, Vyacheslav Parkhamovich at the Belagro exhibition last year. Vyacheslav Mikhailovich admits: during this time, the plant is still increasing its turnover and expanding its range. If last year agronomists just mastered the cultivation of cream tomatoes in addition to the main beef tomato, then at today's exhibition Rudakovo specialists have already brought cherry tomatoes, the production of which is also planned to be established on an industrial scale. “The shelf life criterion of tomatoes plays an important role, because we EXPORT some of the vegetables to Russia. Here it is important for us to maintain a balance so that, with a decent shelf life, the vegetable does not lose its taste,” explains the chief agronomist of Rudakovo. The plant successfully fulfills the order of the head of state to supply the domestic market with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes during the off-season period, because Rudakovo’s production capacity is sufficient to supply both the Belarusian consumer and supplies abroad.

How can Belagro manage without demonstrating success in the field of livestock farming? "Belplemzhivoobedinenie" presented the entire range of breeding products at the exhibition. There are four breeds of dairy and MEAT bulls, five breeds of horses, different types of pigs, several breeds of rams and sheep, and Saanen and Alpine goats, especially valued by domestic livestock breeders. The Saanen breed, as said by Tatyana Olekhnovich, deputy head of the department for breeding work in cattle breeding and chief livestock specialist of Belplemzhivoobedinenie, rightfully holds first place among dairy breeds. A female can produce more than one ton of MILK per year, and some record holders exceed the bar of two tons of valuable product per year. The breeding of the Saanen goat breed in Belarus is carried out by specialists from the biotechnological scientific and experimental production of animal transgenesis of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for animal husbandry and at the breeding plant of the Mogilev State Breeding Enterprise. The Alpine breed is also bred there, the milk of which is famous for its high fat and protein content. According to Tatyana Olekhnovich, goat milk from the Belarusian milk yield produces extremely tasty and healthy cheeses andcottage cheese .
“Our main product in goat breeding is young breeding stock. By the way, this year our breeding farm received the status of a breeding plant. This is the only enterprise of its kind in the republic. I can’t help but say about our Holstein cows. Some cows produce up to 80 liters milk per day. We are also developing sheep breeding. Sheep of the Lakayune dairy breed are raised at the Loshnitsa Feed Mill in the Borisov region, where the total number of the herd exceeded 550 heads, including 245 ewes,” the chief livestock specialist of Belplemzhivoobedinenie introduces the matter.

Tomorrow at Belagro 2024 the results of the competition for the best breeding dairy cow will be summed up. It is symbolic that this year 24 cows took part in the competition, which strict and unbiased judges assessed according to a number of criteria: milk production, reproductive ability, exterior.

But no such program was provided for the feathered participants of Belagro, but they received no less attention from it. The Dzerzhinsky agricultural complex presented a variety of poultry for meat and egg production. However, the real highlight of the stand were several dozen day-old chicks, which everyone was allowed to hold. Neither the children squealing with joy , nor their anxious mothers, nor brutal fathers missed the opportunity . “All of our poultry is highly productive, we guarantee quality. Special attention is paid to our industry today, because the President has set poultry farmers the task of creating their own selection and genetic center. Employees of the Dzerzhinsky agricultural complex, specialists from the experimental station for poultry farming and others have been working for some time to improve our Belarusian cross. The result of joint efforts should be the appearance of a cross of Belarusian selection with white and colored eggshells. In the future, we will be able to provide the population of Belarus with domestic poultry, replacing imported ones from the market,” said livestock breeder of the agricultural complex Lilia Sadovskaya.
Finally, I wanted to take a walk through the fish village, where even before the official opening of the exhibition, the appetizing smells of freshly cooked fish soup were already in the air. The entire range of fish produced was presented at Belagro-2024 by the Lyuban fish processing plant: silver carp, carp, crucian carp, catfish, and pike swim in unique pools right on the exhibition center site. “Our fish processing plant was founded back in 1967. In total, we occupy an area of ​​3 thousand hectares. As for the total output, in 2023 we caught 1243 tons of fish, this year we plan at least 1500 tons, of which 1000 tons of fish will go to stores, the rest will be used for stocking. Production is developing steadily, and we are successfully supplying the domestic market, although we have to compete with Russian sea fish. The costs of its production are much lower than ours, because we need to grow it. fish for at least 36 months,” explained Anatoly Chapelle, director of the Lyuban fish processing plant.

No single format can contain descriptions of all the exhibition stands presented at the 34th International Specialized Exhibition "Belagro". It’s better to go to the forum and see everything with your own eyes. The exhibition will continue until June 9 and will find something to surprise visitors of all ages and professions. You can get to the exhibition center by a free bus from the Mogilevskaya metro station. Don't miss the opportunity to rejoice at the achievements of the Belarusian agro-industrial complex!
Vera VASILEVSKAYA,

photo by Tatyana MATUSEVICH, Nikolai PETROV,

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